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Design Trends
Instagram Made Me Like These Trendy Furniture Items…But Are They Actually Cool?
There are some furniture items and decor pieces that I can only describe to you in one (hyphenated) word: scroll-stopping. You know what I mean, it’s when you’re on Instagram and you see some oddly shaped piece of furniture in a room and all you can do is stop your scroll, zoom in a little, and stare at it for far too long. Maybe you’re staring because you’ve never seen anything like it before, or maybe you’re staring because this is the 1,000th time you’ve seen it and it’s taunting you because you can’t find it online since it’s sold out everywhere (or too expensive).
For me it was the latter. It all started with that H&M circle vase that’s been out of stock for god knows how long but everyone seems to have. Here’s the photo (from @thishouse5000) that confirmed I needed to get one:
Luckily, Jess linked a real similar vase from Etsy in one of her posts and I finally could own my own (you best believe I snatched it up QUICK). When it arrived, I knew I had been a victim to Instagram influence then I got to thinking…what other items are repeatedly showing up in devilishly handsome Instagram photos and are turning on the consumerism parts of my brain? Well, there are lots and lots around…so let’s play a game of is this actually cool or does Instagram just make it look cool…would you put any of the following in your house??? Let’s start here…
The Wavy Mirror
Cool or nay? These are absolutely everywhere right now and whether it’s your vibe or not they definitely give you a reason to stop and stare I mean WOW. @gustafwestman, does these VERY well (and has lots of other fun wiggly and curvy pieces that are breaking the internet). Take a look-see!!
It’s not just mirrors, though. Wavey, squiggly and curvy anything are all over, and if they’re pastel or some sort of bright color EVEN BETTER. Whaddaya think?
Now let’s move into seating because I would love to know if you guys are big fans of these chairs that we’ve all seen 1,000,000 times (but maybe really want)…
Roly Poly Chairs
I mean come on, they’re SO FUN. Maybe not the most comfortable to sit in but I don’t mind somethings being fashion over form. What are your thoughts?
Up next I wanna talk about (possibly) the weirdest but one of the most popular trends…
Foam Furniture
This category makes me feel the most uncomfortbale out of everything for sure. It all started with the mirror but didn’t stop there…
Both the mirror above and below are DIYs…
This is where it personally got out of hand for me. Foam TABLES. I would not recommend setting your wine glass down on this…
Would you have a foam mirror or table or anything in your house??
Shell Pillows
I’ll personally always be on the side of any pillow that’s NOT a square or rectangle, so I know I’m bias since oddly shaped pillows are my personal jam. My favorite person who does the shell pillow best (in my opinion) is Mallory Fetchall from @reserve_home (and not just because her name’s Mallory, too, although that is a plus…
Shells are all over instagram right now, though, it’s really not JUST pillows…if you’re into it check out some of the fun shell vases and shell lamps that are lingering around (lots of which are vintage I might add).
Tiled Tables
Grids and checkerboard print might be even hotter than shells right now, so if you’re into this trend, consider this your official encouragement to hop on board. The best company that’s popping out these grid tables is the danish company Ikon Kobenhavn, although there are some really great DIY options if you wanna get this look for less.
Which ones do you like? Are they cool or are they just instagram fads that we’ll look back and laugh on in t-minus 1 year? Let’s chat about it in the comments, but if you you are brave and ready to buy any of these things, here are our shoppable picks (of course):
1. Square Foam Mirror | 2. Roly Poly Armchair | 3. Peach Cloud Foam Vase | 4. Shell Shaped Embroidered Pillow | 5. Foam Mirror Frame | 6. Curvy Mirror | 7. Pond Mirror | 8. Coffee Table | 9. Estelle Floor Mirror | 10. Emerald Shell Pillow | 11. Pair of Wavey Shaped Mirrors | 12. Foam Mirror
Opening Image Credit: Design & curation by Roksanda Ilinčić and Nick Vinson of Vinson &Co | Interior Architecture by Jonathan Tuckey Design | Architecture by WilkinsonEyre | Photography by Michael Sinclair | Styling by Olivia Gregory
1. I also need that round vase and
2. The wiggly mirrors remind me so much of the Ikea ones I had in my room when I was a kid!! I can’t believe this is a trend now…..
It’s QUITE the trend hahaha. The round vase is honestly one of my best purchases. 10/10 recommend!
Where on earth did you find the vase? I’ve only seen some that resemble it but are a fraction of the size, like a bud vase. I was starting to think it was a photoshop trick.
Oof, I am precisely the wrong generation for each and every one of these. And I LOVE a weird piece – just not this highly specific design era. They make me feel like I’m in a gross outdated motel in a seedy beach town and I’m going to find a hair in the sink. This is SO specific and yet…? The heart hates what it hates.
This comment is the best thing I’ve read all day. Your description is PERFECT hahaha
We all have these things that evoke HIGHLY specific childhood skeeve-outs, don’t we? And don’t get me wrong – please make more posts about furniture I may have a visceral aversion to. It’s FUN.
Meredith, were you born in ’81? Because I AM THERE WITH YOU SISTER. I can feel the jelly shoes on my feet as a gag-reflex all these things.
I was born in ’81, J and Meredith. This post be like drinking Ecto-Cooler and watching Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.
‘83, baby. I see you, girl.
’81 here too and I’m with y’all 100%. bleh!
This is so great. I’m also a Meredith and I relate so hard to both comments. I was like, I wonder if this Meredith is my age…also an ‘81 baby. Jordan Catalano Generation for life!
Haha! Meredith(x 2!), stephanie, ash (for ashley??), J (for Jessica!)…classic group of 80s names. We just need a jennifer or heather to chime in. ?. And why is it always hotels?! Bc that’s exactly what I thought of first.
Oh my, Meridith, I also am the wrong generation. Ok, the shell pillows are pretty and I could see the chairs in a fun child’s room. But mostly, UGH, for me.
I loved your description of the motel. I’ve been in one of those too!
Still, fun post!
“the heart hates what it hates” is my new favorite phrase. thank you for this.
Mostly… no? I’m ok-ish with a shell pillow, kinda into the “organic shaped” side table and mirrors but not the full-on wiggly ones. The chair looks like it belongs in a daycare, but is cute I guess? But the foam. No. It makes so uncomfortable. Like, how did that get popular?! It looks very icky to me.
I could not agree more about the foam. Hands down the weirdest design trend to date
Thumbs up on the tile tables. But foam furniture is just hideous.
the tile tables are my fav!
From the top photo – the low cane chairs. Can’t tell you how many generation X,Y& Z own these “cool” chairs only to watch us “baby boomers” & the disabled struggle to sit down & get up. You can include low sofas, foam sofas & sculptural chairs that cut off circulation at the knees. If your guests aren’t comfortable, your furniture is not “cool”.
i agree..comfort is key!!
I like almost none of these (except the Etsy vase!!). Perhaps I am lame.
My niece did the foam mirror and tiled table for her first college apartment. I think that’s where most of the illustrated items belong and should go no further than that first apartment.
That’s so fun! I think people should hold onto things that make them happy as long as they want, even if other people think they’re ugly :)
Hate ALL of them. They all need to go.
Clearly I don’t follow enough people on IG because, with the exception of the foam mirror, I haven’t seen any of these!
I thought the same thing and loved the post for that reason. Super fun to see though I don’t want any of these things!
Oh my word. I hate all of it *except* that vase, which I didn’t know was having an IG moment. Sculptural vases forever. The rest of it–WHY???
Hahaha it’s all pretty out there! I agree with you the vase is too good
Tile tables! They remind me of old, now derelict family resorts that have not been updated since the early 90s and they’re trying to sell you luxury with their leftover tiles. They make me think of cold scrambled eggs and watered orange juice for breakfast…
And crumbs in the grout that will Just Not Brush Off.
No. Just no.
Why would I want a mirror that looks like it has bloated intestines wrapped around it?
The only one i like is that vase. i need that vase!
Is it just me, or do the wiggle mirrors feel very Nickelodeon JR circa 1997? Like it’s straight out of blues clues or something ?
I think cartoonish furniture and attention grabbing trends such as spray foam furniture will be around forever-in a land fill.
Love the tiled table!
A lot of these look (or are) plastic-y, which is not for me. Barbie’s dream house is plastic.
I think maybe someone like Kelly Wearstler could pull off the foam mirror, but the rest of us would look like we just had a DIY gone terribly, terribly wrong.
The tiled tables remind me of this brown tiled table my parents had when I was a kid. Not good. Also the foam – ridiculous IMO. Not only do I find it ugly I also think it will all end up in a landfill when the ‘moment’ is over. Even if the pieces end up being kept can you imagine cleaning them?? The dust that would end up in all that texture BLERGH
I used a similar foam for some projects in school and it’s surprisingly easy to clean. I’m not sure exactly what the pictured items are made with but assuming it’s the same, you can wipe clean or use compressed air.
The only people who would like the foam are my children… they would poke fingers in that table so fast :)
These all feel so overly trendy. Like, I’m fine with tends but usually we lie to ourselves about it and pretend they’re timeless or classic in some way. These are so upfront about their trendiness that they already feel dated. (Only possible exception being the vase.)
I love pretty much all of these. I also think people get too hung up on whether something is “cool” or trendy or not. I understand why someone working at EHD would feel that way, since the affiliate links need to be making money, but in general I think people should just go with their gut. Who cares if your grumpy aunt doesn’t like your living room sofa? As long as you like it, go for it! And although Instagram is just discovering them now, Ettore Sottsass and Faye Toogood are staples of the design industry, not a flash in the pan. I would kill for an Ultrafragola but they are $$$$.
I really hate every and each of them. Especially the foam stuff, yuck, haha. I can tolerate the cushion. The wiggly mirror reminds me of the children furniture trendy in early 2000s.
The foam mirror would be a fun thing to do with your kids but aside from that, just yuck to all!
Some of these are wild! The foam, woah.
I was waiting to see the ornate brass victorian-esque mirror from Antrho (I believe) that almost every influencer has hanging in her house. But it has opposite effect and I dislike it! Also single palm fan frond in a beige vase; sigh.
This was fun; more of this, please!
The only one I actually like is the shell pillow. I mean, the others can be really cool in a picture or a project, but I don’t see myself owning them (maybe a squiggly table? somethin non-linear? maybe). But this post was a lot of fun!
From reading the comments I may be the only one but actually am very on board with lots of this!!! ???
I’m not into any of the trends but that cane bench in the photo with the yellow wiggly table?!! Heart eyes!
I like the vases.
I don’t mind the tiled tables, for outside on the verandah.
The shell pillows…maybe one, somewhere (though not sure where?).
The rest? The stuff of nightmares!
I hate the foam trend– anyone who has ever used spray foam to insulate a house will probably agree– and the tiled tables. They’re just so… gross and impractical. Spray foam chips and it feels really unpleasant if you touch it, and grout is miserable to keep clean, plus tile is SO annoying to put stuff on. Both trends make me want to wash my hands just looking at them.
The ONLY items that are actually cool in this post are the roly poly chairs and the circle vase – everything else is like tumblr-teen-cool… meaning, not actually cool. at all.
I think it’s interesting to think about WHY this stuff is trendy right now. It is Gen Z’s interest in the ugly and the anti-millennial smooth light pink bland sameness? Is it that things feel so wacky right now that we all need a little gonzo Peewee’s Playhouse in our lives to match the insanity that is the world? Maybe all the curves are because we’re home all the time and we want comfort and ninety-degree angles feel too structured? Hmmm…it’s fun to hypothesize what these trends signify about our cultural moment.
What’s sad to me is how fast Instagram has us consuming styles. Like, I don’t even know if I like or dislike any of these styles because they just make me think “Instagram trendy” and nothing much beyond that.
I love this anthropology (the study not the store) angle. These trends DO elicit an emotional response. Are these trends a nihilistic rebellion? I love wacky and colorful, but I also love comfort and durability and that seems to be missing in most of these pieces with the exception of the vases and the pillows which more folks on here have expressed a tolerance for.
BTW, how does one clean those foam mirrors? Ick.
This stuff is all super fun to see but just because I like to look at it, doesn’t mean I need to own it.
Squiggly mirrors and foam furniture – look cheap to my eye. Shell pillows remind me of those guest towels and shell soaps that you used to find in every condo in Florida. Wiggly shaped furniture, etc, a lot of the 90s revival Post-Modern and Memphis influenced stuff is a big trend for now, but they aren’t super useful and tend to need large rooms to pull off. A lot of this stuff will end up in a landfill in a few years. It may be boring but I stick to classics and keep them fresh with textiles and art.
FAIL ! All of the images I’m supposed to be all gaga over say “View this post on Instagram” and show a line drawn icon.
I don’t have an Instagram account and don’t want one.
What a huge disappointment!
No amount of Instagrammers could ever make me like ANY of those pieces. Egads.
Hi! would like to know what happened with the mentorship program. Would like to read all about it.
come back on Monday!!! :) :)